


Sensory

by asdfghjwy



Category: 2PM (Band)
Genre: Blind Date, M/M, mentions of other JYPN artists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 02:21:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13137096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asdfghjwy/pseuds/asdfghjwy
Summary: In which Nichkhun falls in love with Wooyoung through all of his five senses.





	Sensory

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating! and happy holidays to all ^^ p.s this chapter is dialogue-heavy orz

Nichkhun had thought it would just be another date— meeting up at a normal restaurant, choosing dinner in the menu, having little talks to know each other more and stuff like that, you know, like a normal blind date is— but _no_. Taecyeon was serious when he said this would be different, special, and Nichkhun only knew he was telling the truth when he walked in to the restaurant ( _Sensory_ , the label said) where he was led to another room, a very dark room with zero source of light that it was impossible to see anything at all. After a few bumps and hits, they finally reached Nichkhun’s reserved table and Nichkhun finally managed to sit down.

 

“Do you want your food now or are you waiting for someone else?” Nichkhun heard the waiter asked.

 

“Uh, I’ll wait. My _friend_ should be here soon.”

 

“Alright sir, I’ll check back in ten minutes.” With that, the footsteps moved further from the table and Nichkhun could hear the quiet chatters of other customers around the room.

 

“This literal blind date,” Nichkhun snorted to himself. He was introduced briefly about the main purpose of the restaurant when he first arrived. _Sensory_ was apparently like other dark dining places— concept was removing vision to enhance other senses, which was popular all over the world. Since blind dating is common in Korea, _Sensory_ had grown to be a popular place for people wanting to take blind dating to another level— where they get to know each other through talks first instead of through physical appearance or attraction. Nichkhun had to admit, the idea was unique and interesting. He had to give Taecyeon credits for discovering this place.

 

Few minutes later, someone else was finally being led and seated on Nichkhun’s table.

 

“Lee Junho!” the person hissed. Nichkhun stayed quiet and tried to listen more. “This is so stupid. Get me out of here. _Now_.”

 

“Nuh-uh, you’re staying. Don’t even dream about going back to that studio of yours until you get laid tonight.”

 

“Yah, Junho! ….Junho??”

 

“I think your friend’s already left,” Nichkhun finally spoke up, making his presence known.

 

“Holy shhh—.” Sound of cutlery clattering against the plate. “You scared me. I didn’t see you there!”

 

Nichkhun laughed quietly. “Well I don’t blame you, really. Can hardly see anything in here, eh?”

 

“Umm. Right,” the person sounded sheepish. “Did— did my friend set us up? Or is this like...random meetings in the dark?”

 

“I think our friends set us up. I’m Nichkhun by the way. What’s your name?”

 

“I— I’m Wooyoung…”

 

“Well, nice to meet you, Wooyoung. I’d shake your hand if I could actually see it, but, well.”

 

“Oh! It’s here. In front of you. I think…” Nichkhun chuckled but reached forward to try and find Wooyoung’s hand.

 

“ I can’t fi— oh,” Nichkhun’s hand bumped into another when he lowered his hand. He grabbed it and gave it a firm shake. The hand was soft but sturdy at the same time. It was also pleasantly warm. Instead of commenting on it, Nichkhun asked: “Should we order our food now?” after letting go of Wooyoung’s hand.

 

“Yeah, that would be nice. I’m actually...quite hungry,” Wooyoung said in that sheepish tone again.

 

“Oh yeah? You haven’t had anything before coming here?”

 

“Not really. I was...busy in my studio.”

 

Nichkhun hummed in acknowledgement, interest piqued after hearing “studio” mentioned twice that night. They asked for their appetizers before Nichkhun ventured further in his curiosity. “What studio is it? Dancing studio?”

 

“No. It’s a recording studio actually. I make music for a living.”

 

“Wow, you’re not secretly an idol, are you?” Nichkhun teased. He heard Wooyoung chuckled.

 

“I’m not. I don’t know if that disappoints you or not.”

 

“I’m not disappointed,” Nichkhun said honestly. “Less fuss to deal with. Your job is really cool, though, by the way.”

 

“Thank you,” Wooyoung replied. Nichkhun was so into this concept now— this dark blind dating. He loved how the temporary removal of his vision really did enhance his other senses— like now, it was his hearing. It was really nice and calming to listen to Wooyoung’s voice, to try and detect how he was feeling through his tone and speeches. “It’s something I really love to do. Too much I guess,” he chuckled again.

 

“You love it and spend too much time holed up in that place?”

 

“Kind of.”

 

“You trapped yourself in that cave too much, your friends have to drag you out to make sure you get laid once in awhile?”

 

Wooyoung choked on his saliva and coughed, probably startled of Nichkhun’s question, so Nichkhun offered him a drink, with laughter lingering on his lips. “Sorry, I was just teasing you. Here, have some water. On your right side,” he slid the glass towards Wooyoung. Wooyoung seemed to be fumbling his hand on the table, but miraculously found the glass.

 

“Thanks,” he said, and then mumbled “Of course you’d hear that. That stupid Lee Junho. He’s going to get it. Wait ‘till I get my hands on him.”

 

“Your friend is quite an honest one,” Nichkhun commented. “But he probably just cares about you.”

 

“Why does he care I get laid or not?” He sounded embarrassed and almost whiny. Nichkhun smiled in amusement. He wondered how Wooyoung looked like, and if he would want to meet outside later after their date is done, or if they would part ways while they were still in the dark. Nichkhun genuinely hoped for the former, because a part of him really did want to know more about Wooyoung. “Hey, how’d you know it’s water?” Wooyoung belatedly asked, referring to the water in the glass.

 

“Because I drank it first, while waiting for you to come,” Nichkhun answered easily. There was a moment of silence on Wooyoung’s side, and then: “From the same glass?”

 

“Yeah?” Nichkhun was unsure if that was the answer Wooyoung wanted to hear, but just to be on the safe side and make Wooyoung feel better, he added “Don’t worry. I drank from the other side of the glass.” Of course Nichkhun was unsure of that as well but there was no way either of them would find out anyway, so it wasn’t such a big deal to him. Appetizers were served and Wooyoung didn’t touch more on the topic.

 

“Hey,” Wooyoung whispered, seemingly to Nichkhun.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“They don’t serve weird things here, right? I’m feeling a bit concerned about this,” Wooyoung voiced out his worry. Nichkhun was feeling a little doubtful, too, but at the same time adventurous, so he didn’t mind not knowing what the foods served to them were.

 

“I’m pretty sure they served normal meals here,” Nichkhun chuckled. “Do you want me to try first?”

 

“If that’s okay with you…” mumbled Wooyoung. Nichkhun couldn’t stand how… _cute_ Wooyoung sounded when he was embarrassed. If he could see him right now, Wooyoung would’ve gotten a pinch on his cheek.

 

“That’s fine with me,” Nichkhun assured. He grabbed the fork and poked around on the plate until he got a piece of the food on the utensil. He blew cool air on the food, just in case it was still too hot for his tongue, and bravely ate it. Burst of flavors greeted his tongue before he could actually identify the taste.

 

“So?” Wooyoung inquired after waiting for a moment. Nichkhun chewed some more and then swallowed.

 

“It’s good.”

 

“What?” Wooyoung laughed. “Come on, I need more than just “it’s good”. What is it?”

 

Nichkhun laughed as well. “It’s French fries with barbeque gravy I believe? And melted cheese. You’re not allergic to any of those, are you?”

 

“Nope. Okay,” Wooyoung sighed. “I’ll try it.”

 

“You should. It’s not really that bad. I think it’s,” Nichkhun lowered down his voice as to not get heard by other people. “Low-grade _poutine_.”

 

“ _Poutine_?” Wooyoung tried to say the word correctly. “Uh, it’s a bit salty.”

 

“Doesn’t suit your palate?” Nichkhun found himself eating some more of the dish. It wasn’t as good as the original _poutine_ (which Nichkhun strongly believed what the restaurant was going for), but not nearly as bad as making him wanting to stop eating immediately. It was quite nice actually, pleasant flavours to his mouth.

 

“Not a fan of salty food,” Wooyoung informed him. “But you know what’s funny? I keep wanting to eat anyway,” he chuckled. “Maybe I am _that_ hungry.”

 

“You know, we can just skip to the main dish if you want. I hope it’s better than this one for you.”

 

“No, it’s okay. Really. So…tell me more about yourself?” It made Nichkhun smile at how comfortable and at ease Wooyoung sounded now compared to minutes ago. “You’re not Korean, right? You can’t be Korean,” Wooyoung answered his own question. “Or are you Korean and Nichkhun is not a real name but just an alias?”

 

Nichkhun smiled wider. Not that Wooyoung could see. “No, I’m not Korean and yes, Nichkhun is a real name.”

 

“Oh. Where are you from? How long have you been in Korea?”

 

“I’m from Thailand. I’ve only been here for about three years, more or less,” Nichkhun counted in his head. “I was transferred to the Seoul branch of our company because they needed replacement urgently.”

 

“Ah. You’ve stayed here until now?”

 

“Yeah. I thought it would be a nuisance to move back to Thailand and resettle, so I’ve decided to stay for few more years. Besides, Korea is an interesting and amazing country. I love visiting and exploring new places in my free time.”

 

“That’s nice,” Wooyoung said, a smile in his voice. “What do you do for a living?”

 

“Oh, just a boring job in a boring company,” Nichkhun shrugged. “A creative director.” Their talk was once again interrupted by the waiter bringing the main course to their table, but it wasn’t long until they get back to their conversation.

 

“Hmm, how can being a creative director be boring? It’s a bit contradicting. Do you not love your job?” Wooyoung wanted to know.

 

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I _do_ love my job, but most people assume it’s a boring job. At least the people I’ve met.”

 

“Really? Why is that so?” “Oh, this dish is good!” Wooyoung was momentarily distracted from tasting the main course— Nichkhun assumed. He went to try the dish, too, and a different burst of flavors greeted his palate.

 

“Is that pomegranate?” Nichkhun asked Wooyoung for confirmation.

 

“I think so. Pork and pomegranate, such a weird combination, but it’s so good?” Wooyoung said in awe. “Or is this my hunger speaking again?”

 

Nichkhun couldn’t help but laugh. “No, you’re right. I would never imagine putting these two together, but it’s actually quite good,” Nichkhun agreed. The pork chop was so full of flavors, with the pomegranate juice giving an interesting taste to the sauce.

 

“Wait, wait, wait, where were we again?” Wooyoung suddenly said. “Ah, right. I was asking why people would assume your job is boring.”

 

Nichkhun had to smile at this, at Wooyoung taking genuine interest in Nichkhun and his job instead of just moving on to other topics that did not involve any of their personal lives.

 

“Well, I spend so much time on my job. I spend long hours at the office and have meeting every day. I think not a lot of people understand the effort you need to take to make a perfect piece of work. I don’t think they understand the satisfaction I get when finishing the work, either. They’d say I don’t know how to have fun, but I do, you know? This is fun to me.”

 

“Wow, I totally get you! We’re on the same boat, Nichkhun. This situation is exactly the same with mine, just with a different profession. It’s so frustrating to keep telling them _yes, I’m okay. Yes, I’m still alive and well. No, I don’t need social contact. No, this doesn’t take only a day to finish. No, I’m fine,_ really, _please just leave me alone and bother someone else!_ ”

 

Nichkhun laughed again. He loved how easy and chill things were with Wooyoung, and how he was also comfortable being around Wooyoung’s presence like this. He was beginning to think that he probably should ask for Wooyoung’s number later so they could keep in touch. Wooyoung was someone Nichkhun would love to be and stay friends with.

 

“I guess we both can relate in that,” Nichkhun’s laughter faded into a smile on his face.

 

“Yeah.” Wooyoung was smiling too, Nichkhun could feel. “You didn’t say what kind of company you were working for.”

 

“It’s an advertising company. You would not believe how competitive the market is out there. So we always try our best, and had to sacrifice little things like our time and sleep to make something happen.”

 

“I understand. I think it’s nice that you love what you do and are happy with it. It doesn’t matter what other people think about it, honestly. We all have different ways of living our lives.”

 

Nichkhun agreed with a hum. “So, what kind of music do you make?”

 

“Hmmwell,” Wooyoung thought it over. “A lot of different kinds? I experiment with different types of genre because I don’t like the idea of being bounded to only one thing I’m comfortable with? After all, they say great things and changes happen outside of your comfort zone. You can only grow like that.”

 

“Really? Where did you hear this saying?”

 

“My brother said so.”

 

“Oh, is he your biological brother?”

 

“Oh no, not at all. He’s a senior music producer I know and have been working with the past few years,” Wooyoung explained.

                                                                                                                        

“Ahh,” Nichkhun acknowledged. “I see he has a point there.”

 

“Mhmm. This hyung teaches me a lot of things.”

 

“Wooyoung?” Nichkhun called after he had finished eating, breaking the silence that had comfortably engulfed around them.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I was thinking…would you want to get desserts somewhere else after this?”

 

“You don’t want to get desserts here?” Wooyoung sounded confused and surprised.

 

“I do.” An absolute lie. Nichkhun only wanted to get out as soon as possible to meet Wooyoung and see him with his own eyes, to put a face on that name and voice. But he had to make sure Wooyoung wouldn’t bail on him first, and so invited him to go somewhere if they were to come out right after this. He hoped Wooyoung would say yes. Otherwise, Nichkhun would take it that Wooyoung was not interested to keep in contact with Nichkhun after this dinner. “But I know a place that sells delicious ice creams. I want to bring you there instead.”

 

“Did you say ice cream?”

 

“Mmm, yes?”

 

“Oh my god, I love ice creams!”

 

Nichkhun blinked in amusement, and then chuckled in relief at the realization that Wooyoung accepted his invitation. “That’s a yes, right?” he asked anyway, just to be sure.

 

“Yes, of course. Take me there. I’m all in for ice creams.”

 

“Great then,” Nichkhun grinned. He kind of wished there was a source of light in the room so Wooyoung could see how much he made Nichkhun smile that night. “Whenever you’re ready to go.”

 

“I have to use the restroom first, though.”

 

“Oh, okay. That’s fine. I’ll wait for you outside?”

 

“Sure,” Wooyoung said. “Wait, how do I find you, though? How do I know it’s you?”

 

Nichkhun chuckled. “Look for a foreigner in a suit? I’ll wait right beside the lamppost across of the streets. Shouldn’t be hard to spot.”

 

“You’re wearing a suit?” Wooyoung laughed teasingly. Nichkhun actually felt embarrassed at that.

 

“Yeah, I came here straight from after work…”

 

“Ohh, makes sense. Okay, foreigner in a suit under the lamppost across of the streets. Yeap, got it. I’ll meet you outside in…ten minutes top?”

 

“Mhmm, see you in a bit!”

 

Nichkhun couldn’t stop smiling as he waited for Wooyoung outside the building, right beside the lamppost across of the street as promised. It was a lie to say Nichkhun had never been interested in his date partners before, but things didn’t always go the way Nichkhun had hoped, so the dates and relationships were short-lived, more often than not. He’d gone through enough of this to know not to put his hope on anything or anyone, but this— this date with Wooyoung brought Nichkhun’s interest to know more about his partner, back to life. He wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with the fact that he couldn’t see Wooyoung’s face, if he was just curious, but for now Nichkhun had only wanted to know how Wooyoung looked like. Whatever it was, Nichkhun hoped they could become friends at the very least.

 

When Nichkhun was sure ten minutes had already passed and there were still no signs of Wooyoung going out of the building and approaching him ( _Damn it, should’ve at least asked what Wooyoung was wearing_ , Nichkhun belatedly realized), he still looked at it on the positive side— maybe Wooyoung had unforgiving stomachache, maybe he had to answer the phone, or maybe he was meeting up with his friend Junho. But as time passed by, minutes gone right before Nichkhun’s eyes, so did his smile and the hope he had.

 

“Of course. I’m so stupid,” Nichkhun sighed and mumbled to himself. Ten minutes were long gone, as did the sixty minutes Nichkhun had given himself. Nichkhun never really did saw nor talked to Wooyoung again that night.


End file.
